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Union Crosses Party Lines For Pataki

Two months after Gov. George E. Pataki engineered a deal that provided $1.8 billion in raises for health care workers, the state's largest health care union broke with the Democratic Party and announced yesterday that it would support Mr. Pataki, a Republican, over either of the two Democrats seeking to challenge him.

Dennis Rivera, the president of 1199/S.E.I.U., New York's Health and Human Services Union, stood beside Mr. Pataki at a Bronx hospital yesterday to announce the unanimous decision of the labor group's executive board. The union is known for its formidable get-out-the-vote operation and a mostly minority membership that usually votes for the candidates recommended by its leadership.

Mr. Pataki, appearing elated at his latest successful incursion into Democratic territory, grabbed the hands of hospital workers and stiffly hoisted them in the air as television cameras recorded the moment. He even answered a question in halting Spanish as Mr. Rivera, who is Puerto Rican, smiled in approval.

Mr. Rivera and Mr. Pataki asserted that the endorsement of 1199/S.E.I.U. -- which opposed the governor fiercely when he first ran in 1994, and battled him the next year when he pushed a series of deep cuts in health care spending -- resulted from his support for a series of changes in health care policy backed by Mr. Rivera. In particular, Mr. Rivera noted Mr. Pataki's support of legislation to expand health coverage to poor New Yorkers not covered by Medicaid, especially children, and the creation of advanced training programs for health care workers.

That said, Mr. Rivera had telegraphed the political departure he was about to take nearly two months ago, when the Legislature and Mr. Pataki approved the package that granted Mr. Rivera's workers $1.8 billion for raises. And, as Mr. Rivera noted yesterday, both of Mr. Pataki's Democratic opponents -- H. Carl McCall and Andrew M. Cuomo -- criticized the Legislature for rushing the legislation through without debate, and before an overall budget had passed.

Mr. McCall and Mr. Cuomo both denounced the union's endorsement yesterday. ''George Pataki made a back-room deal in the middle of the night for a political endorsement,'' Mr. Cuomo said in a written statement. And Mr. McCall's aides asserted that this was one instance in which Mr. Rivera's members would not follow him at the ballot box.

Still, by any measure, the decision was a huge setback for Democratic hopes of preventing Mr. Pataki from winning a third term, and the significance of the endorsement was reflected by the intense reaction in Democratic circles and the elation among Mr. Pataki's advisers. Mr. Rivera's union, with its 210,000 members, is widely viewed as the most powerful labor group in the state, and, before this past January, it was almost synonymous with the Democratic Party. Mr. Rivera acted over the repeatedly voiced objections of state Democratic leaders, among them Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, the party's state chairman, according to New York Democrats.

The depth of the relationship between 1199 and the Democratic Party was reflected by Mr. Rivera himself, as he sought to challenge the notion -- pushed by Mr. Pataki's political aides -- that the union's abandonment of the Democratic Party's gubernatorial candidates marked a dark day for the party and signaled a shift in New York politics.

''I'm a Democrat,'' Mr. Rivera said. ''I intend to remain a Democrat. I'm very active in Democratic Party activities. On the other hand, I have to recognize that Governor Pataki has been incredibly helpful to the health care union.''

The rest of his remarks were drowned out by the cheers of health care workers, who had been crowded into a small lobby at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore.

For one thing, the wage-increase deal has been criticized as irresponsible in a number of quarters, including editorial boards. Democrats and other analysts said that Mr. Pataki might be hurt, particularly among upstate voters, if it comes to be seen that he used state coffers to reward a New York City-based political supporter.

''This is not a political earthquake, this is classic self-interest group politics, what Rivera is doing and what Pataki is doing as well,'' said Douglas Muzzio, a professor of public affairs at Baruch College.

Also, Mr. McCall is seeking to become New York's first black governor, and it is far from clear that Mr. Rivera's heavily black and Puerto Rican membership would back Mr. Pataki, given the historical implications of Mr. McCall's candidacy.

Mr. Rivera -- who joined a coalition of black and Latino leaders last year who sought to help Fernando Ferrer become New York's first Puerto Rican mayor -- said he did not think race should play a role in which candidate the union decided to endorse for governor. ''My role is to defend the economic well-being and interests of our members, and the health care institutions and the care of our patients,'' Mr. Rivera said.

Still, the alignment of 1199 with Mr. Pataki provides the governor not only with the benefit of Mr. Rivera's get-out-the-vote operation, but a potentially large union budget to pay for advertisements and mailings. Beyond that, Mr. Pataki's close identification with such a powerful symbol of Democratic politics is likely to make it easier for him to win the support of Democratic voters who might otherwise be wary of supporting a Republican.

The decision by 1199 could be particularly problematic for Mr. McCall in the September primary; many Democrats had expected the union to throw its organizational strength behind Mr. McCall had it stayed on the Democratic side of the line.

For Mr. Cuomo, the problem would appear particularly acute in the general election, should he win the primary. He faces the difficult challenge of defeating Mr. McCall without alienating his rival's black supporters, many of whom had suggested Mr. Cuomo should step aside and allow Mr. McCall a chance to become the state's first black governor.

Thus, in a Pataki-Cuomo race, the governor could benefit from black and Puerto Rican Democratic supporters of Mr. McCall staying home in a general election or, at Mr. Rivera's behest, turning out to support Mr. Pataki.

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A version of this article appears in print on March 20, 2002, on Page B00001 of the National edition with the headline: Union Crosses Party Lines For Pataki. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe